This post is not the latest immunisation update and therefore may contain information or advice that is out of date. Please see our most recent update here.
Sydney Local Health District is establishing a new COVID-19 vaccination clinic at Sydney Olympic Park and is looking to recruit Visiting Medical Officers-GPs to work at the clinic.
Preparation for general practices not participating in Phase 1B
Not participating in Phase 1b of rollout?
Start preparing your practice NOW for the next phase of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout. Ensure that all immunisation providers at your practice have complete the following:
AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine: clinical information
AstraZeneca vaccine training
All practice staff who will be administering the vaccine, including the supervising general practitioner, must complete the COVID-19 vaccine training before commencing vaccinations.
AstraZeneca vaccine Safety data
Read AstraZeneca’s Safety Data Sheet for information on what to do in the event of COVID-19 vaccine accidents:
Actions to take if vaccine is inhaled
Actions to take in case of skin contact
Actions to take in case of eye contact
Actions to take if vaccine is swallowed
The Safety Data Sheet also provides information on containment and cleaning up of spillage, and environmental precautions to prevent accidental release.
AstraZeneca vaccine and clotting conditions
ATAGI continues to recommend vaccination for people with blood clotting conditions, both with AstraZeneca and Pfizer, and maintain the benefits far outweigh any risks. See ATAGI released a statement for health care providers on the suitability of COVID-19 vaccines for people with a history of clotting conditions.
ATAGI has recommended that people with a confirmed medical history of heparin induced thrombocytopenia and cerebral venous sinus thrombosis defer vaccination while evidence specific to them is considered.
COVID-19 vaccination should be strongly encouraged for people with immunocompromise, however for some patients the optimal timing of vaccination requires special consideration.
AstraZeneca vaccine excess doses
Excess doses are vials of COVID-19 vaccine which will expire before the next scheduled vaccination clinic or when patients are booked for COVID-19 vaccine. Where possible, practices should aim to minimise excess doses.
Ensure your practice is familiar with the policy details: AstraZeneca excess doses. This is for general practices, GP Respiratory Clinics and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services.
COVID-19 vaccine: operational information
What is CVAS?
The CVAS (COVID-19 Vaccine Administration System) is a digital ordering and inventory management system that vaccination providers can use to order COVID-19 vaccines and related products, as well as report delivery acceptance, stock on hand and wastage.
Vaccination providers who have been onboarded to the Australian COVID 19 Vaccine Roll out Program by the Department of Health are able to use the CVAS.
If you need to correct information that you have inputted into the CVAS and you have access to the CVAS, you can make amendments directly in the CVAS. If you need further assistance, you can contact the Vaccine Operations Centre.
Following on-boarding, the VOC (Vaccine Operations Centre) will be the central contact point in the Department of Health to assist practices with the management of the operations component of the national COVID-19 vaccine roll-out program. The VOC will:
manage vaccine allocation and ordering across vaccination sites
manage and coordinate safe delivery and storage of vaccines with DHL and Linfox
coordinate the response to incidents impacting the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out program.
All ordering and stock management for general practices should occur through the CVAS online portal (CVAS).
Stock allocations
Current allocations provided to each site may be reviewed in the future as vaccine availability increases and data on usage and demand across the system becomes available.
If your practice is having any issues with delivery or cold chain breaches, please report these to CVAS and the VOC as soon as possible.
Find a COVID-19 vaccine clinic
The Vaccine Clinic Finder currently contains week 1, 2 and 3 practices which have successfully registered in the COVID-19 Vaccine Administration System (CVAS). This list will be updated over the coming days and weeks in line with new registrations and orders, and new sites coming on board.
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